According to the latest research by Argyle[1] and Salesforce[2], IT is no longer just about keeping systems up and running. Today's IT leaders must be far more strategic in driving business growth. The most impactful actions that CIOs can champion is to collaborate with other lines-of-business to further improve the stakeholder experience - customers, employees, partners, and communities. Sales teams are prime candidates for cutting-edge tools, including artificial intelligence, and their appetite for technology transformation is greater than ever. Research bears this out:
- IT leaders say their CEO's #1 priority for IT remains the same now as it was prior to COVID-19:[3] lead digital business/digital transformation initiatives, per IDG.
- According to Gartner, nearly 67% of sales teams are completing, undergoing, or planning a sales transformation to further evolve the function.
- Forrester notes that nearly half (46%) of companies say that marketing and sales are the areas where they are mostly investing in AI adoption systems.
According to the research: "If digital transformation is going to be a reality, IT and sales leaders need to agree on a unified goal for digital transformation across their business - and the next steps to get there. This means the following baseline understanding of the next steps:
- Why teams need a shared definition of digital transformation
- Why it's critical for IT and sales to collaborate
- How to foster a better IT and sales partnership
A shared understanding of digital transformation
Here is the definition of digital transformation: "Digital transformation is the practice of using new technologies and services to evolve business models, sales strategies, marketing practices, product offerings, and organizations as a whole."
New research